I try to use 60 percent beer and 40 percent water (as was told to me by a Pizzeria friend) . I have increased the recipe to about 8oz of beer and 5 oz of water. Plus i add a table spoon of Olive oil. I pour the beer into the measuring glass and remove the foam, so it is 8 oz of beer. i have been very happy with the dough. I will continue to experiment with different beers, but I now realize that I must commit more time to sauce development.

Has anyone tried some dry malt extract in their dough? Dry malt extract is the barley malt extract called "wort" that is hopped and fermented into beer. Homebrew stores sell dry malt extract (referred to as DME) for homebrewers to use in beer making. It is a dry power but all water soluble components. It mainly consist of carbohydrates and proteins and would have a slightly sweet, malty flavor without the alcohol and hop character. It comes as barley or wheat malt extract and in different colors, based on the roasted malts used in the recipes of the wort. It would be a more concentrated malt flavor than adding beer.

I have tried this many times. For me, DME just added too much sweetness to the dough. If you have any sugar in your dough recipe I would suggest you completely omit it if going this route. There is a malt flavor there, but for me it wasn't as much flavor as adding beer. I think the hops, rye and other things in the wort enhance the profile better. DME did taste malty, but in my mouth it just felt "flat" or one-sided. It would be nice to get someone else's take on it.

For your information, there is a pizza operation in Maine called Portland Pie Company that makes frozen dough balls for sale at retail. One of their "flavors" is beer, with the favorite beer being Shipyard Export Ale: http://www.itllbe.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=5. I suspect that that beer might be available only locally but the type of beer might be found in some other brand.

I made dough using a beer called "Three Philosophers Belgian Style Beer". It is an amber color beer that is way darker than Duvel Belgian Style beer. (Bottle says: Part of the Duvel family of fine ales)) I must say that the dough turned out fabulous with this beer. The dough had a little more yellow color to it, but nothing like dough that i have seen made with a stout beer. The dough texture was great and a good flavor.

I would use this beer again, but I would lean more towards the Duvel Belgian Beer which turned out even better. However, the Three Philosophers is 11.99 a bottle and the Duvel is 12.99 a bottle. Expensive beers, but so much fun to try. Here are the photos of my experiment.

PSI thought it was very considerate of Brewery Ommegang, who brews the "Three Philosophers Beer", to print a reminder on the side of the bottle, to pour the beer slowly, so as to not disturb the yeast sediment.

I have found that the beer effects the Texture of the dough more than the flavor. However, each beer does reflect it's own unique dough flavor in the pizza. There is a difference in the pizza dough flavor with beer vs without it. Also, many Pizzerias are featuring and serving the beer that was used in the Pizza dough making process. It is a trend that i am seeing and seems to be working very well.

My current top picks of beers to use are:

Samuel Adams Double Bock

Duvel Belgian Golden Ale

Red Hook ESP (Extra Special Bitter)

Blue Moon Belgian White

Pyramid Hefeweizen

And the experimenting is not over either. I will continue to post my results as I am really enjoying doing it.

(The cost of the beer might be an issue if your selling pizza, but for yourself and friends, go for it)

Interesting that you have found that beer effects the texture of the dough more than the flavor. I have been watching your experiments about using beer in pizza dough and find it interesting. I will look forward to more of your posts about using different beers in pizza dough.

Recently, I went to Pizzeria with some friends. This Pizzeria advertises that they use beer in their pizza dough and serves that beer with the pizza. While I didn't really notice much a of beer Flavor in the pizza dough, my friends did. They even made a comment about how they could definitely taste that certain beer.

Perhaps I have gotten so used to having beer in the dough that my taste buds don't pick it up as someone who is used to dough made with only water. Have fun with the experimenting.

Finally, avoid the really dark beers, like Stouts. (of course there are people that disagree with me about the Stouts, and thats OK)

I donít think there are any pizzerias around where I live that uses beer in their dough. I think it kind of neat that the Pizzeria advertises that they use the brand of beer in their pizza dough and then serves that beer with the pizza. I would like to taste those crusts made with beer or tasted your crusts.

Start your experiment with either Samuel Adams Double Bock or Duval Belgian Golden Ale. You will notice the flavor and texture. Especially with the Samuel Adams Double Bock, because it is very sweet tasting.

Recently, I went to Pizzeria with some friends. This Pizzeria advertises that they use beer in their pizza dough and serves that beer with the pizza. While I didn't really notice much a of beer Flavor in the pizza dough, my friends did. They even made a comment about how they could definitely taste that certain beer.

That's funny TomN! The more and more I try to increase the yeast and malt profile in my doughs, the less I seem to be able to taste it too. Guests having it for the first time are blown away by the flavor. I guess I am just getting used to it.

Start your experiment with either Samuel Adams Double Bock or Duval Belgian Golden Ale. You will notice the flavor and texture. Especially with the Samuel Adams Double Bock, because it is very sweet tasting.

I donít really purchase a lot of beer, but will look for Samuel Adams Double Bock or Duval Belgian Golden Ale, when I am ready to do an experiment with beer in dough. I would like to notice the different flavors and textures in a pizza crust. .

I made several pizzas over the weekend for friends. I used a beer by BLUE MOON called Summer Honey Wheat in the dough making process. This Beer is a Wheat Ale brewed with Orange Peel with Clover Honey added. The Clover Honey gives this beer the sweetness and the Orange Peel give is a very subtle citrus note.

I thought it was a good beer for pizza dough and my friends like the taste of the beer as it was served with the pizza. Unfortunately, this beer is seasonal and can't always be found. Give it a try in your dough making if you can find this beer.

Tried a Rogue Northwest Ale in my pizza dough. This beer was very foamy, so I had to spoon out a lot of foam from the glass. Not sure why?? It even made the pizza dough bubble up in some spots when I cooked it.

Good flavor, but not sure why all the foam. (I made sure my glass was very clean.)

Any one have any thoughts on this??? I never had a beer foam up this much before.

Foam usually equals over-carbonation, or, if desired, very high level of carbonation. This could be due to the style of beer or poor bottling practice. Often a beer can become infected with a wild yeast that will eat sugars left by the brewing yeast and referment in the bottle causing an over-carbonated beer. When the cap is opened and the pressure released, nucleation points on the glass or leftover yeast particles in the bottle can cause the beer to gush or foam on pouring. The high level of dissolved carbonation would certainly cause bubbles in a dough.

Foam usually equals over-carbonation, or, if desired, very high level of carbonation. This could be due to the style of beer or poor bottling practice.

Rogue makes a wide variety of different beers, some with lots of foams, some nearly flat. A bad bottle can get through anyone's QC process now and then (although I've personally never had a bad Rogue), but I would assume that, in this case, it's probably the style.

Incidentally, being an Oregon beer (where I grew up), Rogue tends to use a lot of bittering hops, and I'd be curious how that translates into dough/crust flavor....

Rogue makes a wide variety of different beers, some with lots of foams, some nearly flat. A bad bottle can get through anyone's QC process now and then (although I've personally never had a bad Rogue), but I would assume that, in this case, it's probably the style.

Incidentally, being an Oregon beer (where I grew up), Rogue tends to use a lot of bittering hops, and I'd be curious how that translates into dough/crust flavor....

I thought that the Pizza Dough came out fine and the Rogue Northwest Beer did not have a heavy bitter taste/flavor in my opinion. Thus the dough tasted good. I just couldn't get over all the foam. (you can see my pizza bubbling up in the photo)

When I first started this thread, I experiemented with Red Hook ESP (Extra Special Bitter) at the recommendation of a Pizzeria in my area. When I last visited the Pizzeria, I noticed cases of the Red Hook ESB that were being used in their pizza dough making process. So bitter is ok, just not a Stout.

Visited a Pizzeria today that advertises the beer of the month that they are using in their pizza dough. In a conversation with the dough maker, he said that he uses 8 quarts of beer and 4 quarts of water in the dough making process. It is close to the 60/40 mix (60 percent beer / 40 percent water) that i use to make mine. I am finding many pizzerias in my area that are using beer in their dough making. Although, some do not advertise that they do.

My kitchen has been undergoing a remodel so i have not been able to make dough for a while. Now that it is complete, I am back in business again. Some of my favorite beer to use in the dough making process is called a Double Bock. Samuel Adams has been making a great Double Bock. However, I recently found a Samuel Adams "CINDER BOCK". I tried to photograph the back of the bottle for the description of the beer, but it kept coming out white. Therefore. let me write out the description on the back of the bottle for you.

CINDER BOCK by Samuel Adams: BTW - this beer is 9.4 percent Alcohol

Smokey & Rich with a bit of Mischief.

Unusual and playful this half-breed brew begins with a rush of smoky almost savory, aromas and flavors. The distinctive campfire smokiness of a rauchbier lingers and begins to reveal the rich and velvety malt smoothness of a double bock with notes of toffee and caramel. This roguish brew transforms from its bold start to a hearty and satisfying finish.

At Samuel Adams we love experimenting. This series of limited edition brews represents some of our favorite small batch creations.